Anon: Not really sure how to respond to all of that. Did you get scared or something?

Another Guest: Zero uses modified Beast Balls, to be more specific. And yes, she killed Team ACT. No one's safe in this story. Especially not any current or former main characters.

All right. Time for an episode I've been looking forward to posting for a couple of months now. I hope you all enjoy it!

~Glyphic Falls~

"This is the place."

Gallian stepped onto a rock and looked out across a nearby riverbed. It flowed past the spot Team Paradox currently occupied, travelling off into a thick cloud of mist. The roars of waterfalls echoed in the distance. "I don't really know why you'd want to come here, though. Nothing here but a bunch of old relics and drawings scattered around this place. And you can forget about the Catacombs. Not a good idea to go down there," Gallian said.

"My reconnaissance determined that it was here that your former guild located the Beast Killer," Sticky explained. He pressed the jewel on his chest harness and his visor materialized over his eyes. "Therefore, this is the optimal location to search out a means of elucidating his weakness."

"… tch. Whatever." Gallian sat down on the rock. He flicked a pebble into the river below him and watched the harsh currents carry it away. "Your dopey scanners aren't going to find anything here."

"What makes you so certain of that, Rookie?" Luxeira asked, rubbing her shoulder against her helmet. "This is top of the line Ultra Recon Squad tech, you know."

"Captain, I'm picking up significant levels of interference. There's no way we're going to find any ultra auras here," Sticky declared.

Gallian turned and gave Luxeira a knowing smirk. "Call it intuition." He jumped off his rocky perch. "So, are we done here?"

"Negative. If we can't do a routine scan of the area, then we will need to put in some legwork," Luxeira replied.

"Are you freaking kidding me? You really want to scour this place top to bottom. That'll take ages," Gallian snarled. His eyes and scythe flickered purple. "And all that wasted time on our part paints a bad picture for what's to come."

"If your disaster sense is that disturbed by it, then you are more than welcome to leave," Luxeira scoffed, turning her snout skyward. "We need to investigate ultra aura readings in this world. They are far too similar to the ones we detected in our home before the Lightless Black laid siege to it." She walked toward one of the branching paths. "Besides, who's to say you won't figure out more about this Prism Virus phenomenon that's got you so panicked?"

Gallian's glanced at his harness. The fur on the back of his neck stood on end and his snout tingled. It seemed Luxeira had a point, much as he didn't want to admit it.

"… tch. Fine." He dashed ahead of Luxeira. "But you're following me. Understand?"

"Of course. Lead the way."

Episode 9: Null and Void

Chapter 39: An Underground Movement

Shane's eyes shot open and he rolled to his feet. "Convenient timing," he said. Then he turned toward the orange sea and shouted. "Yo, Solgaleo! Get your loud, booming butt out here. We need to talk."

The familiar, sun-shaped silhouette appeared within the water. "What? Do you have news? Did you finally destroy Absol?"

"I've got news. But before I spill the beans, I need to know if you're telling me the truth," Shane said.

"What nonsense are you babbling about, boy? Is this another one of those impulsive freak-outs people with your condition are so prone to?"

Shane shrank back, tails curling against his hips. The mention of his "condition" nearly sapped the fight from him. Of courseSolgaleo had to bring it up. Well, Shane had no intention of acknowledging him. He steeled his nerves and stood up straight.

"Did you really bring me here to preserve the balance of day and night? And are you really safe? Because I have reason to suspect you're lying to me," Shane said.

"Impudent fool!" Solgaleo roared. Shane was prepared this time, however. He dug his paws into the sand in order to avoid getting blown back. "This is one of your ridiculous tirades. You dare suggest that I am being dishonest? I'm trying to keep the world safe!"

"Yeah. About that…" Shane's brow furrowed. "See, my friends and I managed to free two Pokémon from the Prism Virus."

"Oh? How wonderful! Maybe you're not a total lost cause after all," Solgaleo said. "Now, all you need to do is find the source of this stuff and you can dest—"

"I wasn't finished," Shane said, eyes narrowed. "As I was saying, we freed them from the Prism Virus' control. And they told me that the Prism Virus already attacked you. In fact, they went so far as to make it sound like there isn't a Solgaleo anymore."

"Is this supposed to be a joke? I am not laughing," Solgaleo said. "Yes, I was attacked. I'm not entirely sure what it is that tried to strip me of my power, but I am most certainly alive. Otherwise, we wouldn't be having this conversation."

"Except I encountered the Prism Virus' supposed creator. And she doesn't really seem to be out to mess up the balance of day and night. The Pokémon I freed said that's happening because the big boss lady fed Solgaleo to her pet," Shane said, taking a step toward the edge of the water. He was onto something. Shane wasn't sure what, but he had to keep pressing.

"So, I'm going to ask again. Are you telling me the truth? What's really happening to you? Am I really talking to Solgaleo or an impostor?" Shane stared out at the water, but received no response.

Then, out of nowhere, he heard clapping. It was slow and quiet at first, but it gradually grew in speed and intensity. Shane tensed up. "W-What's going here?" he gulped.

"Heeheeheehee! Bravo, little human. No, really. Take a bow. You deserve it! That was quite the impressive deduction," Solgaleo's voice gleefully exclaimed. "I'm talking A-plus, gold star, grab the magnet and put it on your refrigerator levels of impressive."

Shane hunched low to the ground. "H-Hey! B-Back off, whoever you are. This is my dream space and, um, I'm not afraid to use it!" His expression blanked as the water rippled in front of him.

A large, fiery-yellow lion emerged from its depths. Shane glanced at the lion's black, armored helmet. "S-Something's wrong. You're not Solgaleo! I've seen pictures... and he doesn't have black armor. Or arms sticking out of his back, for that matter," Shane said. His head throbbed and his thoughts raced. Who was this imposter? If Solgaleo really was dead, then who brought him into this world? This couldn't all be one big accident like Tessa said... could it?

The impostor wiggled the claws on his arms. "Heeheeheehee. Correct again! You are really knocking these things out of the park today, huh?" he taunted.

"Those armor pieces. You're infected with the Prism Virus, aren't you?" Shane gasped. "Who are you? And why do you look like Solgaleo?"

"Aww. Come now, if I went and told you, that would be spoilers!" the lion teased, sauntering across the surface of the water. "And I don't wanna be like you. You know, the kind of guy who always ruins the big twists because they can't keep their damn mouth shut?" He shook his head. "So disgraceful."

"What did you do to Solgaleo, you creep?" Shane huffed, snorting out tufts of frosty air as a warning.

"Me? Why, I did plenty. In fact… heeheeheehee… if it wasn't for me, there wouldn't be a Solgaleo in the first place. Or a Lunala, for that matter!" the imposter said, smirking. "And yet, here I am, without so much as a thank you card or a fruit basket for all my hard work. Story of my life."

Shane jaw locked up. "Wha— but that's not right. The Horizon legends… they said Ho-Oh created Solgaleo and Lun—"

"Lies! Filthy lies!" the imposter roared. "Solgaleo, Lunala, and all their descendants owe their lives to me! The sun and moon owe their existences to me. This world's light is mine! Heeheeheehee… you understand me? M-I-N-E. Mine!"

"You bring Solgaleo back right now," Shane said. "Or I… I'm… uh… well, I'll think of something!"

"Heeheeheehee. Oh, you need not worry about that metalhead," the lion said. "In fact…" He approached Shane and looked right down at him. Shane shrank down into the sand, whining meekly. "I'd say he's a lot closer than you might think!"

Shane wanted to scream, but his entire world went white.

~Aeon Observatory~

"Gah!"

Shane shot up from his cushion, a shiver running down his spine. He looked around at his team's room and sighed in relief.

"Mmmmrrgh… Shane, is that you?" Tessa muttered. She sat up and rubbed her eyes. "What's the matter?"

Shane blinked and rapidly shook his head. "It's nothing. Just a bad dream," he said, even though he knew it was the second one of the night. Shane glanced up at the window and his eyes widened. "Wait, it's already daytime!" He bolted to his feet, knocking Tessa off her pillow. She hit the floor with a grunt. "We overslept. They've probably held assembly without us!" Shane said.

"… assembly's cancelled today…"

A shadow filled the room. Null stood in the doorway. Sweat covered his body and his flanks heaved as he breathed in heavily.

"Oh, really?" Shane said.

"… too many folks… recovering from injuries," Null explained. "You can sympathize… I imagine…" Shane winced, but nodded slowly.

"What about you, Null? You don't look all that good. Where have you been?" Tessa asked, slowly standing up.

"Nowhere. Just… exercising a bit," Null said. He glanced toward the hallway. "There are some folks… still gathering up in the assembly area… if you're looking for something to do…" He shuffled backwards, allowing Shane and Tessa pass. Together, Team Radiance proceeded into the assembly area.

"Oh, good. You guys are up," Trapinch said. "Hey, Braviary. Team Radiance is here."

The gathered Pokémon backed away a little bit, allowing Team Radiance to see Braviary and Metagross standing in front of the Guildmaster's office. Shane and Tessa exchanged uneasy looks. Neither really wanted to see Metagross right now. Not after the whirlwind events of the previous day.

"Glad to see y'all are up and about. Feeling okay?" Braviary asked. Both Shane and Tessa tensed up. They stepped next to Null, each of them hiding defensively behind one of his forelegs. Null growled. "Whoa. Easy now." Braviary raised his wings up. "Guess y'all are still not in the best of shape, huh?"

"We're… doing alright," Shane lied. He glanced over at Tessa, who was rubbing her shoulder and fidgeting with her locket. Shane didn't need to be psychic to tell Tessa wanted to get as far from Metagross as possible. "Um, is there something you need us for?"

"Matter of fact—"

Affirmative, Metagross cut in. Fact: I have analyzed the information provided to us by Espeon and Umbreon. His gaze briefly fell on the duo. Espeon slinked back down the stairs, trying to avoid everyone's eye contact. Shane cocked an eyebrow, however, at the sight of a Zoroark leaning on the wall by the stairs. Was this a guild veteran he hadn't met?

Conclusion: it is imperative the guild locate the Dawn Hourglass before the Prism Virus, Metagross declared. Fact: the Prism Virus attacked Aurora Vale to draw out Tapu Lele.

"Zero believes Tapu Lele is the one holding onto the Dawn Hourglass right now," Umbreon added, looking uneasily at the Guildmaster.

Shane cocked his head in confusion. "Why would a Land Spirit have something related to Solgaleo?"

While there's no concrete data, it appears that the original Solgaleo and Lunala entrusted the Dawn and Dusk Hourglasses to the Tapus. The prevailenating belief in Horizon is that the Tapus will randomly exchange the Hourglasses between one another while they're going about reshaping the continent's Mystery Dungeons. At the same time, this allables them to move their respective temples to different spots around the continent, Magearna explained.

"Which keeps them safe from any varmints who want to try and take them fer themselves," Braviary said.

Shane bit his lip. His recalled Solgaleo's impostor claiming the Horizon myths weren't true. He shook his head. "So, um, the Tapus live in temples, then?"

"Yes, but from what Zero could tell, they're all protected by strange forcefields. That's why we suggested messing with Horizon's landscape. To draw them out," Espeon said, sighing.

Fact: if we are to locate Tapu Lele, we must find the Temple of Mind. Hypothesis: the temple is located somewhere near Aurora Vale, Metagross said.

Tessa squeaked and shuffled back across Null's body. She grabbed his hind leg in fright. Shane saw the display and shook his head. "No way. Nuh-uh. We're not about to go back there. I'll bet that place is still completely messed up," he said.

Negative. I am not ordering anyone there are this time, Metagross said. Order: the guild will go on an expedition to Glyphic Falls.

"Glyphic… Falls," Null whispered. He scraped his claws against the floor. Tessa's aura feelers twitched in fright.

Fact: several apprentices are already there, establishing base camp. Fact: I am ordering all available guild members to Glyphic Falls to search out the means to locate the Land Spirits' temples. Fact: Primarina and Vaporeon will look after the guild while we are away, Metagross said.

Shane frowned. "Oh great, him again," he groaned.

"Um, Guildmaster? I, uh, I don't think we'll be able to pitch in for this one."

Espeon and Umbreon stepped away from the stairs, allowing Milotic and Serperior to pass. Both of them had somber looks on their faces.

"Hey, is something wrong?" Tessa asked, tilting her head.

"Yeah," Serperior whispered. "It's Airy. She's… gone."

Shane's eyes widened. "Wait. 'Gone,' as in—"

Milotic produced a piece of paper. "She left. She must've slipped out while we were sleeping last night."

Tessa threw her paws up over her mouth. "Y-You're kidding! But why–?"

"I don't know. Zero said some pretty harsh stuff to her when we fought. I think it really got to her," Milotic said, her tail fins drooping.

Metagross nodded slowly. Acknowledged. Order: remain at the guild. We will proceed without you.

Shane narrowed his eyes at Metagross. Dragonair was one of the top explorers in the guild, yet the Guildmaster wasn't remotely concerned with her disappearance. A tiny voice in Shane's head said that perhaps Metagross was responsible. The thought made his stomach churn.

"And what will you have me do, Guildmaster?"

Milotic and Serperior both did double-takes. "Wait, Zoroark? What are you doing back here? Is this more Expedition Society business?"

"You know this girl?" Tessa gasped.

Shane's concerns about Metagross vanished. His eyes widened. "Wait, you're with the Expedition Society?" He dashed up toward Zoroark. "You've got to tell me what it's like over there. How's Ampharos? And Mawile? Oh! Oh! Wait, have you met the Pokémon that beat Dark Matter? What are they like? And why can't they lend us a paw or two here?"

Tessa lunged forward, cupping Shane's snout with her paw. "Aha ha ha. F-Forgive him, ma'am. He's a bit notorious around these parts for his big mouth." She shot him a a dirty look. Her paw muffled Shane's resulting sigh.

"It's alright," Zoroark said, giggling. She looked at Shane. "So, you must be a human, then? It's nice to meet you." She bowed curtly.

Order: you will provide us with aerial reconnaissance of Glyphic Falls, Metagross said, catching everyone in the room off guard.

"Um, what? Since when do Zoroarks fly, Guildmaster?" Trapinch gasped.

"Maybe she's just really good at illusions?" Mimikyu said. "I always heard some Zoroarks could shapeshift. Maybe if she made one of a flying-type Pokémon, she could fly?" Trapinch gave him a bewildered look. "Meep! It… it was just a suggestion, that's all."

"Oh, I can fly," Zoroark boasted. "Just, not for the reasons you're thinking, little guy." In a flash of blue light, Zoroark transformed into Latias. "Tadah! Pretty cool, huh?"

Tessa's grip slackened. Shane's eyes sparkled and, next thing anyone knew, he sprinted up to Latias. "Ohmygoshohmygoshohmygosh! It's Latias! Right here in front of me!" he said.

"Shane! Show some manners, for pity's sake," Tessa said, facepalming.

"Oh, cut the fun police act. How could you not think this is totally amazing?" he said. Shane turned back to Latias. "Eee! This is incredible. You're only, like, my number four favorite Legendary Pokémon ever. Right behind Rayquaza, Ho-Oh, and Mewtwo because, well, let's face it, they're just concentrated awesome in Pokémon form. But you're definitely the cutest in my book!"

Sweat drops formed on Latias' head. "Oh, uh, that's… nice, I guess."

"Hey, Tessa? We got a pen and some paper anywhere? I've gotta get me an autogra—"

A faint, pink glow surrounded Shane's body, freezing him in place. An unseen force clamped his muzzle shut. That is : save your tomfoolery for your own time, Metagross said.

"Wait, you mean to tell me we were working for you the whole time?" Serperior gasped.

Latias nodded, looking down guiltily. "I'm sorry about the ruse, but I was in a bit of a bind and wanted to keep a low profile."

Serperior looked at Milotic and shook her head. "See? It's just like I said. Can't trust a Zoroark."

"Technically she was never a Zoroark, so your point's invalid," Milotic scoffed. "In any event, what brought you here, Latias?"

"That's a bit… complicated," Latias replied. "First off, the Expedition Society wanted to check and see what had happened to Espeon and Umbreon." She glanced over her shoulder at the them. "Seems like the two of you have been through quite a lot."

Espeon's tail turned stiff as an arrow. "You didn't go through my memories, did you?" She shot Umbreon a horrified look.

"Of course not. The Guildmaster looped me in," Latias explained. Her revelation hardly relieved Espeon. "I take it you two are sticking around here, though?"

"They decided to help us investigate this whole Prism Virus situation," Braviary said. "I take it you also brought her up to speed on that, sir?"

Affirmative, Metagross replied.

"But, uh, there is something else I'm here about," Latias announced. "I was thinking about how to bring this up to you guys. Ultimately, I think I need to just cut right to the chase here." She floated over toward Null. He took a few hesitant steps back.

Tessa looked up at the two of them. Her aura feelers tightened up. Latias' aura brimmed with nervous energy. She wondered what had prompted such a quick change.

"You're Null, correct?" Latias asked.

"Yeah. Did the Guildmaster… tell you about me?" Null said.

"N-No," Latias said. Her stammering drew skeptical eyebrow raises from several Pokémon. She glanced at the Lunar Wing in his helmet and sighed in relief. Latias turned toward the other guild members and said, "My friends in the Expedition Society think they know what Null is." Shane caught Milotic and Serperior exchanging nervous looks. Did they know what Latias was about to say?

"Null is a Pokémon that was made by hand in ancient times," Latias said, drawing startled gasps from the others. "And we think the reason he was created was… to kill gods."

Null's legs gave out. He scrambled to keep himself from collapsing on his stomach. His fur prickled. "I… I'm… what?" he whispered. He took a few steps back, then jostled his helmet. Null lost his balance and flopped onto his belly. He launched into a fit of raucous coughing.

"Null!" Tessa cried and ran over to his side. Null hissed and jerked his head to the right. Tessa stopped short of him, narrowly avoiding an accidental headbutt.

"No... no... please be quiet," he whimpered, jerking his head to his left.

Shane watched his teammates with an astonished look in his eyes. There were too many problems with Latias' revelation. For one, why did Team Captivate sit on this information if they knew about it? And if Null was meant to kill gods, then why did he go after Shane?

"All we have to go off of are some old materials we managed to dig up. Mawile found some records suggesting that a group of Pokémon took off to Horizon following Dark Matter's first defeat. Some of their logs said they teamed up with a Horizon native and tried to make a Pokémon that could protect them from any manner of danger," Latias explained. "Based on the way they phrased it, that danger made it seem like they were talking about gods."

"But it didn't work, right? Their experiment went berserk and they had to seal it inside of a crystal," Serperior said.

Shane's tails shot between his legs. That likely answered why Null attacked him. But another problem surfaced. Why did Sticky call Null a failure? Sticky was an alien, after all. Shane groaned. He didn't need these extra headaches on top of the Prism Virus situation.

"How do you know all of this, Serperior?" Trapinch asked, snapping Shane's thinking back to his original issues.

"Because I hired Team Captivate to locate one of the records Mawile found. I had it stolen from me while I was looking for artifacts in the Nocturnus Catacombs," Latias said. "Turns out, they did one better than that and actually found the item Mawile wanted."

Null's head shot up. "I… I don't understand," he wheezed. "I don't… I don't remember anything like that…" He looked at Team Captivate. "You knew... about this?" Milotic and Serperior nodded in unison. Shane and Tessa exchanged frowns.

Null lumbered to his feet, violently shaking his head. "Why?" he snarled, his voice uneasy. "Why didn't… you tell me? I've been trying… to figure out… why I can't remember anything... since day one!" He scraped his talons across the floor. "That isn't... you..." His helmet banged against his shoulder. "I had a right... to know about this! You needed... to tell me!"

Shane's blood boiled. He stepped in between his friend and Team Captivate. "I can't believe you kept that stuff to yourself! Do you have any idea how much trouble you would've saved us if you'd actually opened your mouths?" he barked. "God... and you two call yourselves the top veteran team!"

Tessa winced. Though she agreed with Shane, she thought he came on a bit strong.

"I didn't say anything because I was scared!" Serperior blurted out. She slithered back toward the stairs. "Look… Null's frightening, okay? Sure, there are plenty of odd-looking Pokémon. But we know all about them. Null's a giant question mark. How did you expect us to react when the first thing we learned about his past was that he might be some sort of killing machine?" She ducked down into the stairwell. "I didn't want to chance having Null freak out and slice me open like a pasta noodle. So, yeah, I kept my mouth shut. Can you really blame me?"

Null whined. Shane's ears folded against his head. Despite their past issues, a heavy guilt tugged at Shane's heart over Null.

Latias floated toward Espeon and Umbreon. "I'm not really sure what to tell you." She turned to Metagross and Braviary. "I'm sorry we kept you guys in the dark. Mawile really hoped she could figure more out about all of this, so that maybe I could come here with a solution to Null's situation."

Braviary rubbed the top of his beak. "Well, I ain't exactly a big fan of getting news like this. And at such a doggone lousy time fer us, to boot."

Order: Null will stay behind for this expedition. Hypothesis: going to Glyphic Falls will trigger memories and cause him to lash out, Metagross said.

"B… but Guildmaster," Null whimpered, much to Shane's surprise. "Please… don't make me... stay behind. I… I want to know. I need to know... if there are answers... to my past…"

Request denied, Metagross said. Fact: the Prism Virus situation is a serious threat. Fact: it requires our undivided attention. Conclusion: I cannot have guild members preoccupied with tasks that will ultimately prove insignificant should the world fall into crisis.

Tessa stepped forward. "You have to let him come with us," she declared. "Null's a member of Team Radiance now." She pulled a copy of the team's contract out from her item pouch. "He signed this when I told you to get rid of the dissolution form, remember?"

Fact: my memory is infallible, Metagross scoffed.

"Then, if you're allowing Team Radiance to go on the expedition, Null has to come too," Tessa declared. "Right, Shane?"

She gave him a pleading look. Shane's heart skipped a beat. He quickly stood at attention. "Y-Yeah!" he squeaked. "All for one and one for all… or something like that…" He winced at the look of disappointment on Tessa's face. She wanted more of a ringing endorsement. Shane's expression grew stern. "Null's been crucial to giving us a fighting chance against the Prism Virus. I'm not going to Glyphic Falls without him."

He glanced at Tessa, who gave him a warm smile. Null looked between the two of them, his sniffles echoing in his helmet.

Fact: I reserve the right to amend the rules of expeditions as I see fit, Metagross said. I will not have you distracting us from our prime objective.

"Guildmaster… I won't… waste anyone's time. I just… want to go there… and see… if I remember anything. I promise... I'll focus... on looking for stuff... about the Tapus," Null said.

Metagross' expression remained neutral. Fine. Order: Magearna will accompany your group. Warning: if she believes that you are deviating from my directions, you will be sent back to base camp and returned to the Observatory.

Null nodded. "I understand."

Order: all those proceeding to Glyphic Falls, gather your belongings and meet at the entrance in five minutes. Dismissed.

~Glyphic Falls~

"Testing? Uh… one, two. Is youse all hearing me?"

I read you loud and clear, Yungoos, Magearna said. She led Team Radiance through a narrow path overlooking a particularly steep drop down to a roaring riverbed. Her stomach compartment was open, revealing a large speaker.

"Great. Red Team's moving along to da nort'west and— oy! Growlithe! Put da stick down. Now ain't da time to use dat!" Yungoos' voice crackled through the speakers.

"Blue Team's setting a course to the north, y'all," Braviary announced

"Sky Team checking in. Nothing really to report at the moment. The clouds are quite lovely up here," Latias said. "Also, why did I get a team if I'm the only one on it?"

"Gate Team here. All quiet at the entrance. We've finished gathering the supplies needed to cook dinner," Trapinch reported.

Okay, good. Your Gear-Coms should have enough juice to make it to sundown. After that, you should report back to base camp. Ping me if you need anything. Otherwise, try to stay off the line, Magearna said.

A chorus of acknowledging statements followed. Magearna's speaker retracted into her chest. Just as a heads up, I may need to borrow your team's Gear-Com, should mine unexplicably lose power.

"Heh, that shouldn't happen as long as you've got me around!" Togedemaru boasted, her cheeks sparking with electricity.

Shane leaned over and whispered to Tessa, "Remind me why we got stuck with her, again."

"Because," Togedemaru huffed, stopping in the middle of the trail and extending her spines. Shane stumbled to the ground, barely avoiding them. "My electricity can give auxiliary power to Magearna's energy cells. Otherwise, she'd never be able to keep so many Gear-Com lines tethered to her at once."

"Oh, okay. That makes perfect sense," Shane said. 'Which engineering school did you graduate from, again?'

"I really don't understand your Guildmaster," Espeon said, walking dejectedly at the back of the group. "Why would he split Umbry and me up? We do our best work together. We'd be most useful together."

Tessa winced and tried to ignore Espeon's complaints. She didn't want to have to think about Metagross. "Exactly where is it that we're going to look for clues, anyway?" she asked. Tessa's gaze drifted toward the cliff face and the river down below. "This seems like a rather odd place to keep information about the Tapus." A steam geyser erupted nearby. Tessa jumped forward with a frightened yip. She hastened her pace.

There are caverns interwovenated amongst the waterfalls, Magearna explained. Some of them lead down into the Nocturnus Catacombs. But others are believed to have served as shelter for Pokémon in the times when the Horizon Continent was a driftinating landmass.

Tessa peered up the path, and noted a large rock spire jutting out diagonally. Water cascaded off the top of it. She guessed that was their destination.

"So, big guy, anything jogging your memory yet? Y'know, in a nice, friendly, 'I don't want to murder everyone around me' kind of way?" Togedemaru asked.

Shane's ears folded against his head. "Hey, d'ya think maybe you could tone down on the black comedy a bit?"

"Psht! What's the matter, scared of your own teammate?" Togedemaru scoffed.

Shane quickly glanced back at Null. The answer was yes, of course. Shane had an awful feeling that, if Null flew off the handle again, it would be his head on the proverbial chopping block.

For his part, Null stayed silent. He stared at the river as he trudged along at the back of the line. "You guys… found me… washed up by the entrance… right?" he said.

"Sure did! Boy, was that a surprise or what?" Togedemaru said, looking over toward Magearna.

It certainly generated a strong startle cycle in my processors, if that's what you're insinuinating, Magearna said. We were here to gather some meteorological data. I sent Togedemaru to get river water for my Geartronic Pressure Sensorometer.

"But when I went to the river, I found this big lug lying in the shallows near our campsite," Togedemaru continued, jerking her head in Null's direction. "We called Braviary up right away and he and Metagross showed up to haul his ragged butt back to the Observatory."

Null slowly craned his head to look at the falls. "Did I… go down… one of those?" he whispered.

"Fat chance. Your odds of surviving a fall down one of these suckers without any wings is, like, a zillion to one," Togedemaru said.

Actually, it's around one in eight hundred and thirty seven. Certainly not the worst odds in the world, Magearna said.

"Yeah, but you'd either have to be crazy or really, really desperate to go down one of these waterfalls," Togedemaru scoffed. "Can you imagine someone in the guild trying that?"

Shane's brow furrowed. "I can see you looking right at me, you know."

Togedemaru smirked. "Good, because out of all us, you'd be the odds-on favorite to try something that stupid."

"Har, har. Very funny," Shane deadpanned. He turned to Tessa. "Hey, uh, can we talk for a second?"

"Sure. What is it?"

"No. I mean, can we hang back and talk. It's… kind of personal," he said, leaning in to whisper that last line. Tessa's aura feelers stiffened. She beckoned Null and Espeon ahead of her, then walked alongside Shane. Initially he stayed silent, his gaze focused straight ahead of him.

"Well? Are we going to talk or are you going to stare at Espeon?"

Shane abruptly jerked himself upright. He looked straight down at his forepaws. "Right, sorry. Anyway, about this morning…"

"You mean the bad dream?" Tessa said.

Shane nodded. "Kind of. See, I was thinking about what Espeon and Umbreon said yesterday. Y'know, about what they think happened to Solgaleo?" He bit his lower lip. "I, uh, had one of my dreams last night. The ones where Solgaleo shows up." Tessa gave him a concerned look. "Well, I told him about what we had learned."

Tessa's aura feelers twitched. "And what did he say?"

A shiver ran down Shane's back. "That's the thing. The voice in my dreams… I don't think it was actually Solgaleo. Because he revealed what he looks like to me. At least, I think that's what happened," he whispered.

"Shane, you're speaking in riddles here," Tessa said. "It's a bit hard to follow."

"Sorry. I, uh, I'm just not sure how to phrase it," Shane said. He took in a deep breath. "I think the voice inside my dreams isn't Solgaleo. I think it's part of the Prism Virus." Tessa's eyes widened. She opened her mouth to respond, but Shane quickly threw his paw up over her snout. "Whatever you've got to say, do it quietly, please. I don't want anyone else to hear about this."

Tessa slowly nodded and Shane withdrew his paw. "What makes you so sure of this?" she asked.

"I told you, the voice showed me his body," Shane said. "And it kinda looked like Solgaleo, but the colors were wrong. And he was covered in pieces of black armor, just like Zero."

Tessa gave him a worried look. "But how can the Prism Virus do that?" She threw a paw up over her muzzle. "Oh… oh, gods. You don't think you've been infected, do you? What if that's why Null tried to attack you?"

Shane's eyes widened. That hadn't occurred to him. But that wasn't something he wanted to consider. "N-No, that wouldn't make sense. I've been having these dreams for over a month. It wouldn't have taken the Prism Virus this long to infect me," he said, thinking his reasoning was sound enough.

"But what if something's keeping you safe?" Tessa proposed. "Like your Naturia Looplet?"

"Please don't say that!" Shane blurted out. The other group members looked back in concern. "We… we're fine," he lied. "Let's just keep going." He turned away from Tessa and quickly walked forward to try and rejoin the group.

Tessa jogged up to him. "Shane, you can't just ignore this, you know. If someone's messing with your mind, then you need to speak up. With Espeon and Latias here, we have three powerful psychic-types. I'm sure they could figure out a way to help you."

Shane whined softly. "I know, okay. I just… I don't know what to say to them. The other guild members are still pretty iffy about me because of the whole Bewear-Lycanroc fiasco. This would just make everything worse," he said. "Besides, what about you? Espeon and Umbreon think Lunala's been taken in by the Prism Virus, too. So, what would that mean for your dreams about your mom?"

It took a moment for the impact of Shane's statement to sink in. When it did, Tessa hastily pulled her scarf over her head. "I… I don't want to talk about this anymore," she said. Tessa sped up her pace. "We're here for info about the Tapus. And... and for Null. I can't help him if I'm distracted by you."

"But…"

"Not now, Shane!"

Again, their travelling companions stopped to give them concerned looks. "S-Sorry! Shane was trying to take one of my berries," Tessa said. She shot him a pleading look and whispered, "I'm sorry. We can talk later." Then she opted to walk alongside Null.

Shane sighed. Even though that didn't go how he'd hoped, he was relieved Tessa was willing to talk at a later point. It was a far cry from their past arguing, at least. Shane walked forward, ears instinctively tucking against his head in a vain attempt at reducing the sounds of roaring water. It didn't take long for his head to throb. He glanced over the edge of the pathway and quickly skittered back toward the wall.

He could safely say this was the highest off the ground he'd ever been without being inside an airplane. And he did not like it. "Hey, um, how long do we have to stay up here, exactly?" he asked. "I'm, uh, just learning that I'm not so good with heights."

Just long enough to scope out this cave, Magearna replied, drawing a relieved sigh from Shane. Then we can move along to the next one.

Shane's tails tucked between his legs. "J-Just how many of these waterfalls are we going to investigate, huh?"

Before Magearna could respond, a ringing noise sounded from her stomach. Her built-in speaker turned on and Braviary said, "Mags. Y'all might want to find some cover over there. My team spotted something flying across the air mighty quick-like. And it was heading in y'all's direction."

"Yeah. I just sensed a pretty powerful aura fly by," Latias chimed in. "Hang on, I'm going to try and see if I can get a closer lo— eek!"

The group tensed up as Latias' frightened shriek sounded through Magearna's speaker. "Latias? Latias! Are you okay? What's going on?!" Espeon said, glancing back and forth between the speaker and the sky.

Static erupted from the other end of the line. Everyone flinched except Magearna.

"… thing… bad… big…"

Could you repeat that? You're not coming in cleanerly, Magearna said.

More static followed. "You guys need to take cover!" Latias cried. "Whatever's flying around up here just blindsided me with some kind of attack. Feels like it struck me in the back with something really hard and really sharp."

"Did you get a good look at it, at least?" Togedemaru asked.

"N-No, sorry. It flew off right away. And I need to land and heal up. I'm not doing so hot," Latias squeaked.

"Well, you heard the lady," Shane said. "Let's find an alcove to stow away in until we get the all cle—"

"Skraaaw!"

Shane's stance slouched. "… or it could show up right now and make our lives miserable." He looked over his shoulder, but immediately had to turn away as a glaring light spread across his body. "Ach! What the heck? Is it a Skarmory up there?" In response, a rock nailed Shane's face. It exploded into dusty debris, knocking him back into Null. "Eyowch! What hit me?" he groaned.

"A rock," Null said. "But… where would a bird… get a rock from?"

Magearna's eyes widened. That is no Skarmory. It is a Toucannon. But something is clearly off with its apperentice. Its wings look like they're made out of bamboo. That is one hundred percent illogical. That variety of plant doesn't even growthinate in Horizon.

Toucannon's beak shimmered in the sunlight. It opened its mouth wide. Several more rocks shot down toward the group. "It doesn't have to make sense. It's a Prism Virus Pokémon!" Tessa cried. She batted rocks away with her glowing paws. Magearna swept liquid metal through the air to blow apart the rest, but Toucannon easily steered clear of her attack.

It spread its wings apart and let out a defiant, "Skraaw!" Toucannon tucked in its wings. It dived at the group, beak turning red hot.

"Not good! It's trying to Beak Blast us!" Tessa yelped. She turned tail, trying to scramble up the path. But she got tangled up with Null, Espeon, and Shane in the process.

Togedemaru hopped in front of them. "Leave this one to me. Zing-Zap away!" She shrouded her entire body in electricity and launched herself forward. But, much to her surprise, Toucannon stayed its course. Electricity crackled across its body, but its bamboo-like, metal-coated wings absorbed the attack. Toucannon shot Togedemaru back into the ground, leaving a crack in the cliff.

Shane spewed frosty air in desperation, but the heat of Toucannon's beak dispelled it. Shane braced himself for impact, when Null stepped in front of him. Toucannon slammed into Null. The impact made his legs buckle. A sharp crack echoed through the area. The ground trembled underneath Team Radiance.

"Agh! Careful!" Espeon cried, the quake knocking her to the ground.

My word! Null, hold absolutely still, Magearna said, pointing a metallic arm forward. Shane opened his eyes and his jaw dropped at the sight of Toucannon's beak wedged into Null's helmet. A second, spiderweb crack radiated out around the mask.

"W-Wait, I'm supposed to defeat it with a Z-Move. That might be the only way to save it from the Prism Virus," Shane said.

Magearna gathered ice at the tip of her arm, when a loud, long rumble sounded. "Um, guys? I think we need to move… now," Espeon said, trying to shove Shane and Tessa out of the way.

Shane sank into the ground. He looked up at Toucannon. "Is that bird doing something to us?" he asked.

"No. The ground's giving way!" Espeon shrieked. She managed to push Shane onto his side and was prepared to leap over him when the path beneath her crumbled away. Seconds later, Shane, Tessa, Null, and Toucannon all dropped down. Horrified screams rang out, only to grow steadily more distant.

Magearna's eyes widened. She dashed toward the edge of the crumbling path. Magearna looked for a sign of her guild mates, but all she got were splashes that echoed far in the distance. The pathway shook once again. Without so much as a second thought, Magearna grabbed the unconscious Togedemaru and hastily fled away from the waterfall.

Guildmaster, we've got a serious situation here! Magearna declared, casting glances backward to watch as rocky debris covered up the hole that Team Radiance had just fallen down.

Next time: 28 characters are introduced!

... it's not what you think, I swear!